The Child, The Cry, And The Box
by Merenwen 'Aldalas' Silverleaf
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir tell a young Estel a ghost story after the child informs them that he isn’t afraid of anything.


Title: The Child, The Cry, and The Box

Rating: K+

Summary: Elladan and Elrohir tell a young Estel a ghost story after the child informs them that he isn't afraid of anything.

Disclaimer: Still not mine. ((sob))

Extra Note: Based off of my daddy's favorite ghost story. Scared the living crap out of my brother and I on a Halloween night years ago! It's just the way my dad told it… ((shudders))

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I don't believe you."

Nine-year-old Estel folded his arms and stood defiantly in front of his older brothers. "It's true!"

"It is not!" Elladan said while Elrohir laughed. Honestly, how did this young human get such a hair-brained idea?

"Yes it is!"

"Estel, I'm not going to believe that you can't be scared of anything! Everyone's afraid of something."

"Not me. I haven't seen or heard anything that could scare me!" the small child smirked, confident in his ability of fearlessness. The twins just shook their heads.

Elrohir poked his twin and mirrored Aragorn's smirk. "We could always tell him about what happened a few years ago in Laketown. If he can make it through that story without screaming, I'll believe him."

"Wait a second…" Elladan had to resist smiling, his lips curling lightly as he thought about it. "You want to tell him about that?"

Elrohir nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"

Aragorn nodded, eagerly wishing to put the twins in their place. "I'm not a baby! Tell me!"

Elladan clapped his hands together. "All right then! We'll find out how tough you really are."

Glancing over at Elrohir again, he motioned his twin to get moving. "Come on Elrohir, let's go set up the mood."

Several minutes later, Elladan, Elrohir, and Aragorn were sitting in the Hall of Fire. The fire crackled and snapped merrily as Elladan stoked the ashes a final time, making sure it would not die for several hours. The three of them sat in a circle, Aragorn between the twins, as Elrohir began his story.

"Now Estel, if it gets too scary, just tell me and I'll stop." Elrohir teased the child lightly, only half serious.

"No way!" Aragorn was facing Elrohir, settled in his blanket right next to Elladan. The idea of being told a really scary story this late at night was exciting and the young human was thrilled with the idea.

"All right." Elrohir glanced up at Elladan a moment and winked. Both the twins were excited to have the story told as well, though for very different reasons than their young human brother.

"A few years ago in Laketown, there was a young boy and a young girl taking a walk through the forest, some distance from home. They took their time running through the trees, watching the birds, smelling the flowers… I think they even spotted a herd of deer at one point."

Aragorn snorted. This wasn't scary at all!

"Then, just as they were about to head back home, they heard a cry." Elrohir imitated a faint, drawn out cry of someone in need of help. "Heeeeeellllllpppppp…."

Aragorn perked up as he leaned up against Elladan. Now this was more like it!

"Both children decided they wanted to know where the cry was coming from. So, without going back home, they started to follow the sound. The cry would sound every few minutes, getting louder as they got closer." Again, Elrohir called out the plea of help, his voice a bit stronger. "Heeeeeellllllllpppppp…."

"Dusk was coming, and the sky grew darker. Soon both children were unsure of where they were. Only the sound of the cry kept them going. Just as sunset came, the two children came across an old, dilapidated farmhouse. The wood was dark with scorch marks, the paint long since peeling and gone, and weeds surrounded the structure. Again, they heard the cry. This time, it was clearly coming from inside the house. Hhheeeeeeelllllllllpppppppp!"

"Did they go in?" Aragorn asked, his eyes wide.

Elrohir smiled. "They walked up to the house and crossed the porch, the wood rotten beneath their feet." Elrohir now imitated the sound. "Creak, creak, creak… The front door was unlocked, but the hinges screamed as they pushed open the heavy door. Screeeeeee…"

Aragorn pulled his blanket around himself a bit tighter, his eyes locked on those of his older brother.

"Beyond the door, there was a large room. It was empty, only cobwebs and dust balls were scattered around the corners. Opposite the front door however, were some stairs. They heard the cry again, even louder this time. Hheellppp!"

Elrohir began to use his hands as he told the story, helping Aragorn better visualize the tale. Pretending his hands were feet, he showed the child how quietly the two children in the story must have walked across the room to the stairs.

"They climbed the stairs slowly, one by one. Ckreee, ckreee, ckreee, ckreee… and at the top they found themselves in a dark hallway. There was a window at the end of it but the sky was now fully dark and they knew they couldn't get back home. So they decided to keep going, following the cry that was now akin to yelling. HELP!"

Aragorn pulled away from Elladan and inched closer to Elrohir, his eyes even wider.

"They walked through the hallway to the end, where their was another door to another room. They slowly pushed open the door… rrrrreeeeeekkkk… and discovered an almost empty bedroom."

"Was there something inside?" Aragorn whispered, fascination and for a moment Elrohir was sure, a flicker of fear.

"There was one piece of furniture there, the first one the two children had come across. It was a huge wardrobe, sitting silently in the back corner of the room. The cry came again, more frequently now that they were so close. HELP!

"They crossed the room and the little boy grasped the handle of the wardrobe, pulling open the small door. Both he and the little girl looked inside."

Aragorn didn't say anything this time, pulling even closer and letting his eyes travel between Elrohir's face and his hands.

"Sitting inside the wardrobe was a small box, no bigger than this-" Elrohir demonstrated the size with his hands, no bigger than a fist. "The little girl picked up the box, and the cry came again. This time it was very loud, and it was coming from the box. HHEELLPP!"

Elrohir leaned closer to Aragorn, holding the make-believe box in his hands. "Carefully, they pulled the top off, looked inside, and found--"

"BBBBOOOOOOOOOO!"

Aragorn screamed as someone grabbed his sides and reared back, right into Elladan's lap. He buried his face against Elladan's chest and held his head in his hands until he could hear something else.

Both Elladan and Elrohir were laughing and trying to do it so softly that their sides began to hurt.

"Wow, he got really close to you 'Ro!"

"I almost thought he smacked you in the face!"

Aragorn caught on to the conversation and looked back out at Elrohir, who was now laughing so hard he had tears rolling down his cheeks. "Heeyyy…" the child attempted to defend his dignity but the twins would have none of it. They had had this planned from the beginning.

"We got you and we got you good!" Elladan said gleefully, tickling the child in his arms. After a moment, when Aragorn's heartbeat had stilled, he managed to release a shaky laugh along with his older brothers.

"So Estel, have we learned something today?" Elrohir prompted.

Aragorn nodded heavily. "Anyone can get scared."

"Like two young elves I informed only last week that they were to never tell their younger brother a ghost story?" a fierce, deep voice from behind them all made both the twins jump in surprise.

Elrond stood behind them reflected loosely in the firelight, his arms folded and a small frown threatening to turn into a smile at the identical looks of terror he was receiving from his sons. To this day the twins swore one eyebrow had disappeared into his hairline.

The twins hemmed and hawed for a moment or two but came up with no good excuse between them. Sheepish grins and nervous laughs did nothing however, to get them out of trouble now!

"If we don't run now we may become the ghost story-" Elladan hissed at his twin, and with Aragorn in his arms the three of them bid their father a hasty goodnight and escaped from the Hall.

Elrond shook his head. Young ones…

End

Thank you for reading! Please R&R if you wish!


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